Chapter 9 - The Unshakable FoundationBy the end of spring, Sutton Global Holdings had successfully completed its merger with the European engineering consortium, cementing our position as the undisputed market leader in global infrastructure development.
The media circus surrounding the Hale family had long since faded into a distant memory, replaced by new scandals and financial gossip. Occasionally, the tabloids would run a tiny blurb in the back pages about a disgraced former CEO named Everett Hale working night shifts as a parking lot attendant in Queens while his mother lived off government assistance in a cramped suburban duplex. I never bothered to read those articles. Trash taken out to the curb doesn't require a second glance.
I spent my weekends not cooking meals for an ungrateful husband or begging for validation from a toxic mother-in-law, but designing sustainable architectural wonders that would stand long after I was gone.
My life was no longer built on sand, lies, or the borrowed grace of a mediocre man. It was forged in steel, protected by law, and crowned by absolute, unshakeable sovereignty.
